The ratings (up to five stars) and comments are based on patient satisfaction surveys and appear with providers’ biographies on the Virginia Mason website, VirginiaMason.org. To find a specific provider, type his or her name in the “Search” field at the top of the homepage. Click here to see an example.

“Today’s society increasingly demands transparency and access to information that allows for convenient, quick and informed decision-making,” said Donna Smith, MD, medical director for clinics and executive co-sponsor of patient experience. “By offering current and prospective patients access to provider ratings and patient comments, they gain insight into what other patient interactions have been like. They can use this information when choosing their health care provider.”

In satisfaction surveys, patients rate physicians and other providers (i.e., physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners) as Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good or Very Good on these topics:

Friendliness/courtesy of the provider

Explanations the care provider gave you about your problem/condition

Concern the care provider showed for your questions or worries

Care provider’s efforts to include you in decisions about your treatment

Degree to which the provider talked with you, using words you could understand

Amount of time the care provider spent with you

Your confidence in the provider

Likelihood of your recommending this care provider to others

Ratings and patients’ comments are verified by Press Ganey Associates, an independent company that conducts ongoing satisfaction surveys.

“The majority of our providers consistently receive high ratings from their patients,” Dr. Smith said. “The occasional negative comments are valuable, too, as we strive for continuous improvement to ensure a remarkable experience for our patients.”

The Virginia Mason Patient Relations and Service Department also uses information from the satisfaction surveys to identify and address issues of importance to patients and their families.

Virginia Mason is among a few health systems across the U.S. that post ratings for, and patient comments about, its providers on the Internet. Others include Cleveland Clinic, University of Utah Healthcare, Stanford Healthcare and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

This is the newest of several programs Virginia Mason has launched to ensure current and potential patients have access to valuable information to guide their health care decisions. Other recent initiatives include: implementing the Patient Cost Estimator, which offers comprehensive estimates of out-of-pocket costs for numerous medical exams and procedures; posting online the estimated prices of the 100 most common outpatient surgical procedures; and enabling Virginia Mason patients to see clinical notes about their care on the secure, online patient portal, called MyVirginiaMason.org.

About Virginia Mason Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system based in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Virginia Mason employs approximately 6,000 people and includes a 336-bed acute-care hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 480 physicians; regional medical centers throughout the Puget Sound area; and Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason is internationally recognized for its breakthrough autoimmune disease research. Using the Virginia Mason Production System management methodology, Virginia Mason is an international leader in applying lean manufacturing principles to health care delivery to eliminate waste, lower cost, and improve quality and patient safety. Virginia Mason website: www.VirginiaMason.org